Psychology Personal Statement Example 77

Studying psychology prior to university has engaged me in terms of understanding why humans behave in the various ways we do.

During A-level psychology, I have gained an insight into many aspects of how we behave such as how individuals retain information and how conformity within society links closely with crime rates.

Both are modules studied within the degree and therefore, previously studying these areas and having read around these topics will enhance my understanding at university. In addition to developing my knowledge, studying psychology has allowed me to become furtherly engrossed with forensic and social psychology in particular.

Alongside psychology I have also studied law at A-level. This has highlighted particular areas of the law that I am interested in.

My interest in law led me to become a member of the IAG policing group who work with the authorities to analyse crime rates and identify groups within society that are more likely to come into contact with the law.

Becoming an IAG member has heightened my interest into how certain people act depending on age and culture, and how this may influence the chance of them being involved in crime.

I have learned the ability to analyse and apply data to various topics through A-level business and biology. I feel as though the ability to do this will help during university as research needs to be interpreted appropriately and applied so psychology can understand the behaviour of people.

Studying biology has also enhanced my understanding of the anatomy of the brain and in terms of biological psychology how abnormalities can affect an individual’s behaviour. For example studying biology educated me as to how an imbalance of hormones can cause mental disorders which will impact an individual’s behaviour.

Gaining valuable work experience within a criminal law firm gave me the advantage of a strong insight to understanding the way in which a person’s mental state can affect the severity of their sentence. An example of this is how medical evidence of psychological illnesses can be used in court to reduce a conviction of murder to voluntary manslaughter.

This is a fundamental example of how psychology affects the real world and it interests me as to how psychology affects society in terms of the law and justice system.

I have completed the bronze and silver Duke of Edinburgh and I am currently working towards completing my gold award. Completing the awards has enhanced my ability to work within a team as well as being self-dependent.

As part of completing the awards I have been volunteering at a local Brownies group as a qualified young leader.

Doing so has expanded my diligence and organisation skills when planning weekly activities, similar qualities of mine have also been demonstrated by becoming a prefect and house captain, I have also worked as a reading buddy and learning mentor to younger psychology students aiding their understanding of the subject and also unfolding my leadership and ability to work with others.

In addition to completing the Duke of Edinburgh awards, I am also participating in the World Challenge project whereby I am travelling to Borneo during the summer of 2016 and will carry out volunteer work, working alongside those less fortunate.

Part of the challenge requires participants to raise £4000 to fund the trip. Using wages from part time jobs and attending charity events has enabled me to achieve this goal and raise the full cost, showing my commitment to the project. As a result of this I will gain an insight to how people of different ethics live compared to the western world.

The experience of travelling across the world will benefit me, as it will provide me with valuable attributes, such as the ability to adapt to people’s needs when making decisions-which can be applied when studying psychology and in my aspired future career of rehabilitating criminal offenders.